After the opening round of the Omega European Masters in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, a familiar name lurks at the top of the leaderboard.
Ludvig Aberg’s ‘dream come true’ on horizon with surprising Ryder Cup captain’s pick on the table
Ludvig Aberg has had a strong rookie season, so much so that the young Swede could represent Europe at the 2023 Ryder Cup.
Jack Milko has been playing golf since he was five years old. He has yet to record a hole-in-one, but he did secure an M.A. in Sports Journalism from St. Bonaventure University.
That would be Ludvig Aberg, the 23-year-old Swedish phenom who carded a 6-under 64 for his opening round Thursday.
He sits one stroke behind a group of leaders, which includes 2022 U.S. Open champion Matthew Fitzpatrick, at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.
Fitzpatrick has had a strong season and will surely represent the Europeans at next month’s Ryder Cup in Rome, Italy.
Aberg could be there, too, thanks to his strong play as of late.
“All these [Ryder Cup] conversations are very flattering,” Aberg told DP World Tour officials before the Omega European Masters.
“I wouldn’t expect myself to be in this position this early on [in my career], to be honest. But all I can do is try to prepare for every tournament the best I can.”
Interestingly, Aberg has been paired with Edoardo Molinari and Nicolas Colsaerts during the first two rounds of the Omega European Masters.
Molinari and Colsaerts will serve as vice-captains at next month’s Ryder Cup.
“It would mean the world,” Aberg said of his Ryder Cup prospects. “As a young person growing up in Europe, I watched the Ryder Cup for so many years. It’s a dream come true if you were to be picked for it once in your career. So I would love it, but it’s not up to me.”
The decision-makers, which include Molinari and Colsaerts, must have been impressed with Aberg’s play on Thursday.
But they must be impressed with his last three months too.
Since the beginning of June, when he made his PGA Tour debut at the RBC Canadian Open in Toronto, Aberg shockingly ranks first on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: off-the-tee, according to Justin Ray of The Athletic.
Yes, he has been better than Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler in this metric.
Back at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in July, Aberg played alongside Luke Donald, the captain of the 2023 European Ryder Cup team.
“I got to play with him in Detroit a couple of months ago,” Aberg said. “That was the one time we’ve gotten to know each other a little bit better.”
Donald was impressed by what he saw, noting that Aberg will be a “superstar” in the years to come. The Englishman also compared Aberg to McIlroy, noting the young Swede’s driver is a “huge weapon.”
Indeed it is.
Aberg has relied on his impressive tee-ball to make 6-of-7 cuts on the PGA Tour this season. He even tied for 4th at the John Deere Classic.
He has parlayed that success to the DP World Tour, where, last week, he tied for 4th at the D+D Real Czech Masters, thus showing the powers that be that he can contend with anyone on any course.
And yet, Aberg is again sitting towards the top of the leaderboard in Switzerland.
But this time, he hopes to break through with a victory, which would grab the attention of Team Europe’s captains even more.
“Once I’m on the golf course, I just try to have fun and hit as few shots as I can,” Aberg added. “Then it’s up to the captain and the vice captains and see what they want to do.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
